US helps airlift 32 Filipinos out of Kabul

Thirty-two Filipinos were airlifted out of Kabul by the United States in the middle of the chaos just as the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital.

- ROY C. MABASA

Manila-based migration consultant Emmanuel Geslani bared this Tuesday, August 17, as he thanked the US for bringing to safety the 32 Filipinos.

Geslani said the 32 Filipinos were reportedly part of about 500 US embassy staff members extricated from the Embassy by Chinook helicopters on Sunday.

From there, all the US embassy staff– including the Filipinos – boarded a C-17 cargo plane that flew them to the US Airbase in Doha, said Geslani, who claims to be in touch with some of the 32 Filipinos.

35 Filipinos arrive

Tuesday afternoon, 35 Filipinos from Afghanistan arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) through a chartered plane from Doha, Qatar, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

The DFA said the 35 Filipinos were evacuated from Kabul by their respective foreign employers and were airlifted to Qatar. From Doha, the Filipinos joined the DFA chartered plane en route to Manila. No further details were provided by the DFA and it was not immediately known if the 35 Filipinos who arrived at NAIA include the 32 Filipinos flown out of Kabul by the US.

A total of 35 Filipinos from Afghanistan arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport through a chartered plane from Doha, Qatar, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Tuesday. The DFA said the 35 Filipinos were evacuated from Kabul by their respective foreign employers and were airlifted to Qatar. From Doha, the Filipinos joined the DFA chartered plane en route to Manila. No further details were provided by the DFA.

Amid the chaotic situation brought by the collapse of the Afghan government and the takeover by the Taliban, all commercial flights at the Kabul International Airport were suspended.